When the Seattle Sounders host the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday (7:30 p.m. PT; JOEtv, Univision, ROOT Sports outside Seattle, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS), it will be the first look for each side at two new summer signings. The Earthquakes welcomed Georgian international Valeri “Vako” Qazaishvili a week before the Sounders brought on Kelvin Leerdam, and while neither team has yet to play against the two new faces, they, themselves, have plenty of history.
Just one month ago, Vako and Leerdam were teammates.
For three years, the duo plied their trade with SBV Vitesse in the Eredivisie, the top flight of Dutch football. And then in a nine-day span, each signed with an MLS Western conference team.
“We have a good relationship,” Leerdam said of Vako ahead of the match on Sunday. “We spoke about how he’s liking it and to congratulate each other. I know he’s a special player, he’s a good player. We’ll need to find a plan against him.”
Leerdam said he expects he and Vako to have a good transition to Major League Soccer, even if it takes a little bit of time to adjust to a different team and league-wide style of play. Teams in the Netherlands build from the back and attack more tactically, and referees tend to blow their whistle more frequently than in MLS.
“[The United States] is a Western country, it’s similar to Europe,” Leerdam said. “The change of that will not be big…It’s a new league so like me [Vako] will need to adapt to his teammates. Maybe it’ll take a while for us to show ourselves, but [us playing in the same league] is special.”
Vako, 24, scored a team-best 10 goals as an attacking midfielder for Vitesse in the 2015-16 season before spending much of last year on loan at Poland’s Legia Warsaw. He signed as San Jose’s youngest Designated Player and scored in his debut midweek in a 5-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls.
“Vako can create for himself,” said Leerdam. “If [the Earthquakes] were searching for that, they found a good player in him. He’s a player who can change situations in games.”
Leerdam is quiet on the pitch. He doesn’t engage in much banter with opponents, even players with whom he’s played in the past, and doesn’t expect that to change on Sunday. He said he’ll likely talk to Vako briefly before or after the match, but not during. He wants to remain focused on his responsibilities and the task at hand.
“I’ve played with him so long, I know what his mindset is,” Leerdam said. “What he does doesn’t bother me, I’m not interested in that. The only thing I am interested in is keeping him out of the game because he has special qualities and he can decide the game in just one action.
“I like him as a player, I like him as a person,” Leerdam continued. “But it stays football.”
